Sheriff details problems with office building

Friday

Dec 7, 2012 at 11:00 AM

Peeling paint and crumbling plaster are an embarrassment. But poor ventilation and possible asbestos problems are a health issue for his staff, Lenawee County Sheriff Jack Welsh told county commissioners on Thursday.

By Dennis PelhamDaily Telegram Staff Writer

Peeling paint and crumbling plaster are an embarrassment. But poor ventilation and possible asbestos problems are a health issue for his staff, Lenawee County Sheriff Jack Welsh told county commissioners on Thursday.

Complaints about the 60-year-old building were aired during a criminal justice committee discussion on strategic planning. The committee was assigned last month to work on short- and long-term plans for dealing with the building problem.

Information is being compiled on a potential project for a new building in the future, said committee chairman David Stimpson, R-Tecumseh.

"We want to address both the short- and long-term issues right away," Stimpson said.Welsh said the deteriorating condition of the office building has been ignored for years despite his annual requests for repairs and improvements.

"Walk in our front office. The paint is peeling off the walls and falling on people's desks," Welsh said. Walls are bubbling and plaster crumbling, he said.

While the appearance of the building is an embarrassment, he said, problems with heating and cooling systems are more serious.

"It's unhealthy," Welsh said. "There's no ventilation in that building at all."

"We need to take care of that building," said commissioner Cletus Smith, R-Madison Twp. "You need a new building, but you're two to three to four years away from that new building."

Smith said employees deserve a good environment to work in while the commission decides how to replace the old building.

New sheriff's department offices were part of bond proposals that included a new jail facility. Voters overwhelmingly rejected the proposals in 1998 and 2000. The commission arranged financing in 2004 without a tax increase for a project limited to a new jail. No plans have been pursued by the commission to renovate or replace the sheriff's offices.

The county's maintenance department responds when things break or plaster falls from a wall or ceiling, Welsh said. But requests for building-wide painting and repair work go unanswered, he said.